Car frame



Dec. 28 1926.

E. L. KASTLER CAR FRAME Filed June 15, 1925 Patented Dec. 28, 1926.

entree s'rarss PATENT oris.

EDNARD L. KASTLER, OF FAIRIVIONT, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR 'IO FAIRMONT RAIIAVA'Y MOTORS, INCL, OF FAIRMONT, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA.

GAR FRAIlIE.

Application filed June 15, 1925. Serial No. 37,263.

"ihis invention relates to improvements in car frames particularly designed for use in the construction of railway motor cars or hand cars, and more pzu'ticularly relates to the particular method of constructing such a car frame.

An object of this invention is to provide a car frame of the above mentioned typo comprising a pair of side beams suitably to secured together to provide a frame which will be comparatively light in weightand having means thereon for resisting torsional strain in the frame, as when lifting the car from and onto the rails.

A further object of the invention is to provide a car frame having the side beams thereof connected together by a plurality of cross beams and said cross beams being suitably braced by means of diagonal braces so arranged as to minimize horizontal and vertical frame distortion, and also by means of which the lateral cross members of the rame will be held against rolling action caused by the inertia or momentum of the load carried thereon, when the car is subjected to a shock from a collision or sudden application of the brakes.

The particular object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an improved car is frame of simple and inexpensive construc tion which will be strong and durable, and will be comparatively light in weight so that it may readily be lifted from and onto the rails as is customary in devices of this :15 kind.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the drawings there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, V

Figure 1 is a plan View of the lmproved car frame;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1.

The novel car frame featured in this invention preferably comprises the opposed side beams or sills 4 which are mounted upon cross beams 5 as shown in the drawingris. The cross beams 5 are suitably mounted upon and secured to the bearing brackets or housings 6 in which the axles 7 are rotatably mounted, as is customary in structures of this type. The usual carryingwheels 8 are terminally mounted upon the axles 7. Re ferring to Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that the cross beams 5 are arranged in pairs and have their ends secured to the bearing brackets 6, thereby providing in effect two rectangular truck frames which are connected together by means of the opposed sills 4 and a plurality of diagonal braces which will subsequently be described.

An important feature of this invention resides in the novel means provided for securing together the two truck frames composed of the cross beams 5. Such means preferably consists in securing a pair .of diagonal braces 9 to the upper edges of the cross beams 5' and a pair of similar diagonal braces 10 to the lower edges thereof. These diagonal braces are riveted or bolted together at the pointwhere they intersect one another, by means of a rivet or bolt 11, as particularly shown in Figure 3. The rivet or stud 11 may be provided with a shoulder at each end thereof so that when the opposed ends are inserted through the apertures provided in the braces, and are headed over, as shown, the upper and lower braces of the frame will be spaced apart as shown in Figured Suitable bolts or screws 12 are provided for securing the diagonal braces 9 and 10 to the cross beams 5.

When the two truck frames, composed of the cross beams 5 and the bearing brackets or housings 6, are thus secured together by,

means of the diagonal bra 'es 9 and 1.0, and the longitudinal side boa or sills 4- are mounted thereon as shown; a very rigid and rugged frame structure will be provided. Also as a result of the diagonal braces 9 and 10 being thus arranged in pairs and a pair of such braces being secured to the upper and one to the low r edges of the cross beams 5, the frame when completed will be greatly strengthened. This increased strength in the construction of the car frame is obtained by the spaced relation of the diagonal braces and as a result of connecting them together at their intersections by the rivet 11, as previously described. By such spacing of the diagonal braces, any tendency to raise one of the wheels from the rails will exert a ten- :ional strain upon one'of the diagonal braces 10 at the bottom of the frame, while one of the upper braces 9 will be put under compression. Conversely, when one of the wheels has been lifted from the rail and lowered to a point beneath the surface of the rail or out of contact with the ground, a tensional strain will be exerted on one of the upper braces 9 while the complementary lower brace will be put under compression. it will, therefore, readily be seen and understood that by this novel arrangement of the diagonal braces 9 and 10, the frame will be greatly strengthened and at the same time its weight will be reduced to a minimum. Also by thus securing together the cross beams 5 by means of the spaced diagonal braces 9 and i and the sills l, the car frame, when completed, will be practically free from horizontal and vertical diagonal frame distortion. Considerable stiffness and rigid ity will also be added to the frame with a minimum amount of material, thereby providing a frame structure which is well adapted for use in the construction of railway motor and hand cars.

\Vhen it is desired to mount an engine on the frame as in the case of a motor driven car, additional frame members 13 may be mounted upon the cross beams to support the engine. In the structure here shown, a lift rod or bar lat is arranged at each end of the car frame to provide means for lifting the car from and onto the rails. A draw bar 15 is also shown at each end of the car frame having their inwardly extending ends secured to the adjacent cross beams 5 while their outer end portions may be Secured to the lift rods l-lby means of U-bolts 16. An auxiliary cross beam 17 may also be provided adjacent each end of the frame to provide an additional supporting means for the draw bars 15, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. These auxiliary cross beams are preferably secured to the side beams 01' sills l.

I claim as my invention:

1. A railway car comprising truck frames and brace bars arranged diagonally of said truck frames above and below them and in crossed relation and secured to said truck frames.

2. A railway car comprising truck frames having cross beams arranged in pairs and side sills connecting the pairs of cross beams and extending transversely thereof, and brace bars arrai'iged in crossed relation cliagonally of said truck frames and secured to the cross beams of said truck frames and to said side sills.

3. A railway car comprising truck frames, side sills mounted on said frames, and brace bars arranged diagonally of said truck framesabove and below them and in crossed relation and secured to said truck frames and to said side sills.

L. A railway car comprising truck frames, side sills mounted on said frames, brace bars arranged in pairs above and below said truck frames and extending diagonally thereof and having their end portions secured to said truck frames and to said side sills.

5. A railway car comprising truck frames, side sills mounted on said frames, brace bars arranged in pairs above and below said truck frames and extending diagonally thereof and having their end portions secured to said truck frames and to said side sills, the middle portions of said brace bars having means for securing the upper and lower pairs together at their points of intersection.

6. A railway car comprising truck frames, side sills mounted on said frames, brace bars arranged in pairs above and below said truck frames and extending diagonally thereof, and having their end portions secured to said truck frames, and a bolt passing through the bars of said pairs at their points of intersection and securing them together, said brace bars preventing horizontal and vertical distortion of said car frame.

7. A railway car comprising truck frames in spaced parallel relation, side sills mounted on said frames and means extending transversely of said car and diagonally thereof and secured to the upper and lower portions of said truck frames for resisting vertical and horizontal torsional strains thereon.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 11th day of June, 1925.

EDWARD L. KASTLER. 

